The Burnham Government has announced a new cross-government team to examine the influence of “mega-donors” in British politics as ministers come under pressure to impose limits on extremely large domestic political donations.
Democracy Minister Florence Eshalomi told the House of Commons that the Prime Minister and the Government were determined to tackle the issue of UK-based mega-donors and said a new cross-government “task and finish” team would work at pace to find a solution.
The announcement came during the remaining Commons stages of the Representation of the People Bill on 2 September, as Labour MPs pressed ministers to go beyond new restrictions on overseas political donations and cryptocurrency contributions.
Government turns attention to UK-based mega-donors
The Government has already brought forward measures aimed primarily at foreign financial interference, including a £100,000 annual cap affecting overseas electors, a ban on political donations made using cryptocurrency and tighter rules governing company donations.
The new team marks a potentially significant extension of that agenda because it will examine the influence of very large donations from permissible UK-based donors.
There is currently no general monetary ceiling on how much a permissible UK-based donor can give to a political party.
Eshalomi promises work “at pace”
Responding to MPs during the Commons debate, Eshalomi said ministers were determined to address the UK-based mega-donor issue.
She announced a cross-government task and finish team which, she said, would work quickly to find a solution while avoiding unintended consequences.
The minister also indicated that once workable measures had been identified, the Government wanted them brought into force as soon as possible.
However, ministers have not yet announced what those measures will be.
No domestic donation cap has yet been agreed
The most important distinction is that the Government has not announced a numerical cap on donations from UK-based individuals or companies.
The £100,000 annual limit being introduced elsewhere in the Representation of the People Bill relates to overseas donors and should not be confused with the domestic mega-donor review.
The new cross-government team could ultimately recommend a domestic donations cap, changes to campaign spending limits, tougher transparency rules or another mechanism, but its detailed remit and eventual recommendations have yet to be published.
Stella Creasy pushed for immediate cap
Labour MP Stella Creasy has been among the strongest advocates of an immediate limit on large domestic political donations.
An amendment tabled in her name proposed an initial annual cap of £500,000, falling to £100,000 in the following calendar year, with ministers then required to establish a permanent limit through regulations.
The proposal contained exemptions for specified sources including trade union political funds, subject to conditions.
More than 60 MPs supported the proposal, according to reporting on the Commons debate.
Creasy ultimately did not press the amendment to a vote following the ministerial commitment, although she continues to seek a firm guarantee that a domestic cap will be introduced before the next general election.
Burnham had already said Government must go further
The announcement follows pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham over the increasing concentration of money in British politics.
Responding to Creasy in the Commons on 1 September, Burnham said the Representation of the People Bill was a start, acknowledged that the Government needed to go further and indicated that he had an open mind about additional measures.
The following day, Eshalomi's announcement provided the first concrete machinery for examining the domestic mega-donor question.
Concern over concentration of political money
The debate is being driven by the increasing importance of very large individual donations to political parties.
A recent House of Commons Library analysis noted longstanding concerns about the influence of large donors and modelled how different donation caps could affect party finances.
Transparency International UK has said the proportion of private political donations coming from individuals and companies giving £1 million or more rose substantially between 2015 and the 2024 general election.
Supporters of a cap argue that exceptionally large donations can give a small number of wealthy individuals disproportionate influence over political parties and the wider political debate.
Opponents and sceptics argue that caps could have major unintended consequences for legitimate political participation and party finances and could advantage some funding models over others.
Reform attacks political finance reforms
Reform UK has strongly criticised the Government's wider political finance legislation.
During the Commons debate, Reform MP Danny Kruger accused ministers of pursuing a partisan attempt to weaken his party and highlighted the large sums Labour receives from trade unions.
That criticism reflects one of the central difficulties facing ministers as they consider a domestic cap: different political parties rely on very different sources of funding.
Any eventual system would therefore face intense scrutiny over whether individuals, companies, trade unions and other permissible donors were treated fairly.
Electoral Commission already reviewing spending limits
The mega-donor taskforce is separate from another Government initiative examining how much political parties and candidates can spend during election campaigns.
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner have asked the Electoral Commission to review existing spending limits and provide recommendations by July 2027 at the latest.
The ministers said party spending limits were too high and pointed to the 80% increase introduced in 2023, which raised the national party limit from £19.5 million to £34 million.
They have also asked the Commission to include candidate spending limits in its review.
Representation of the People Bill clears Commons
The announcement came as MPs completed the Commons stages of the Representation of the People Bill.
The legislation includes the £100,000 cap on donations from overseas electors, restrictions applying to people newly arriving or returning to the UK, the crypto-donation ban and tougher rules for corporate political contributions.
It also contains wider electoral reforms, including votes at 16 and changes to voter registration and identification.
MPs approved the Bill at third reading by 411 votes to 102, sending it to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
Major decision on party funding still ahead
The creation of the new team does not guarantee that Britain will ultimately adopt a universal cap on domestic political donations.
What it does establish is that the Burnham Government has formally accepted the question of UK-based mega-donors as an issue requiring further action.
The next significant development will be the publication of the team's detailed remit or a Government proposal setting out exactly how large domestic donations could be restricted.
Until then, any specific figure for a UK-wide donations cap remains a proposal rather than Government policy.
Sources
- The Guardian: Burnham to crack down on UK mega-donors influencing politics — 3 September 2026
- House of Commons Library: Representation of the People Bill — progress of the Bill
- UK Parliament: Stella Creasy amendment NC120 — donation cap on UK-based donors
- UK Government: Letter to the Electoral Commission on political spending limits
- MHCLG: Protecting UK democracy from hostile actors and foreign interference — 2 September 2026